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value

7/11/2017

8 Comments

 
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Last week's simply said quote by Jesse Kamm prompted a thoughtful + appreciated comment from Priscilla which in turn reminded me of a tempting sale I recently encountered.

Priscilla wrote: "This quote rings true. I didn't used to think about cheap purchases, clothing or otherwise, and now I always do. As an example, I recently saved up for a vacuum cleaner, found a bunch of poor reviews (and questionable factory work conditions) on the cheaper vacuums, and decided I need to save up four times the amount so I'm not buying a cheap appliance that will end up in the land fill."

Priscilla your words make me want to cheer, but also to sigh...because it can be so hard to choose "to save up four times the amount" to buy the better vacuum!

Your experience reminds me of seeing beach chairs on sale at Target last week...I've been wanting one to replace the uncomfortable folding chair I currently have...but getting one would surely mean buying two more for the girls...and then, well, I might as well get another one for Mr. Tribe...oh, and there are chaise lounge chairs on sale too...and we've been wanting some for our backyard...one would be lonely...so we'd need two. Suddenly, I have six chairs in my cart...I'm feeling sickly instead of excited...and yes, it's just silly.

At home I started researching beach chairs (this is made even sillier by the fact that we just returned from a road trip to the beach...without beach chairs). The cheap ones would surely break quickly, because there are plastic parts at the joints. There will be no repairing them, + they will end up in the landfill. But the more sturdy + ethically made ones cost five times more than the cheap ones.  

Here is my discovery: As soon as I saw the price tag on the cheap chairs, that became the value of a beach chair in my mind.

Isn't that what has happened with fast fashion + so many other products out there? Once a t-shirt costs $1.90...it starts to sound ridiculous to pay even $25 for one. Once I can have 35 t-shirts, it starts to sound silly to believe that 3 might be enough.

But $1.90 is not the value of a t-shirt + $9 is not the value of a beach chair. Value comes from the resources it takes to construct an item (including + especially labor at all the various stages of resource extraction, growth, cultivation, transportation, + manufacture)...value involves avoidance of waste, repair + replacement costs...value comes from our willingness to hold on to + use that item for a long time.

Value. Cost. Awareness. Choice.

Love,
Jane

P.S. I don't have any beach chairs...yet. (or lounge chairs either)  :)
8 Comments
Celia link
7/11/2017 01:21:36 pm

It's sort of like anchoring, right? Like how stores will sell a $450 watch to make us think that a $100 watch is something we can easily afford. I've never realized that it works the opposite way, too, but you're right: cheaper things make the ethical, more expensive version seem so out of reach.

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Jane link
7/11/2017 04:58:43 pm

That is so true! I didn't think of it in that direction! So true. (Just makes me want to say, "Yuck!") :) I don't like feeling manipulated.

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Priscilla link
7/11/2017 02:22:25 pm

What a surprise to open this new blog post and see my name! That was fun.:-) Ah yes, I understand your cheer AND your sigh!

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Jane link
7/11/2017 04:56:59 pm

Thank you so much for commenting and getting me thinking further! :)

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Jo in London
7/11/2017 02:55:07 pm

Appreciation too. I find that if I make a planned purchase after a lot of consideration I appreciate the item more.
Do you follow Claudia - etsicetaitsimple - on Instagram? She's in Canada and recently bought some nice looking Made in the US beach chairs. I think the brand was Tidewater Lumber.
The place in Australia where I grew up is famous for its beaches and I spent a lot of time on the beach as a child yet I'd never consider sitting on a chair on the beach. I don't think that Aussies don't tend to use them!

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Jane link
7/11/2017 04:54:58 pm

I will check those chairs out- thank you!! That is so interesting! I grew up near the beach as well + don't remember sitting on a chair, bc the beach was about digging and splashing and building. :) What do the Aussies do? Now I like to sit...but I'd also use them for summer concerts and outdoor movies and fireworks and sitting in the backyard and picnics and camping. :)

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Samantha
7/23/2017 09:32:00 pm

Hi Jane! One very nice side effect of forgoing the beach chair is a built in workout for your core. Katy Bowman is a biomechanicist who talks a lot about the health hazards of the chair. Her website is nutritious movement dot com. You might find some inadvertent inspiration for skipping the furniture! You commented on an Instagram photo of mine ages ago when I stuck my compost bin outside my back door to add squats to my day. Katy's work was the inspiration for that. I'm a first time commenter here! Thank you for all that you do!!!

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Jane link
7/24/2017 10:37:12 am

I remember that instagram post! I also remember reading about Katy Bowman at some point not really having furniture in her livingroom...so interesting, inspiring + thought provoking! Thank you so much for this comment! It's so true + you remind me that usually sitting on a big blanket works great (+ is great for the core). The time that we could really use chairs is when camping...but I'll cross that road (again) when I come to it. Thanks again, Samantha! This is a great reminder! :)

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